


Me Against The World

by the_tempest



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: F/F, F/M, I Don't Even Know, I really don't know what I'm doing here, M/M, more characters and relationships may be added later, more tags may be added, superhero au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-03-17
Updated: 2014-06-17
Packaged: 2018-01-16 02:46:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,495
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1329013
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_tempest/pseuds/the_tempest
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A superhero au based partially on things made by falloutboyonboy, benepla, falloutenbyonenby and peppermint-prince. This is the first thing I've ever done, so comments are appreciated.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue; The Beginning

Jean 

_ Daz just gets on my last nerve, I can’t even use logic, its like his brain doesn’t work-  _

“Argh!” 

As I bring my hands up to my face and close my eyes in frustration, I feel static run through my body. Not unusual for me, but this time it’s a little stronger. 

Strangely enough, no response from Daz. I peek through my fingers. 

“Oh my god!” 

Franz and Hannah turn around. They must be as shocked as I am to see Daz unconscious on the ground, steaming slightly. Hannah runs over and kneels next to him. 

“What did you do?” She asks frantically. 

“I...I d-don’t know.” 

Franz gives me a look. 

“I swear!” 

Hannah looks up. 

“I think he was electrocuted.” she says, staring at me “Was that you?” 

“I don’t… maybe” 

Hannah and Franz share a look, doing that wordless communication thing that most couples can do. 

“Please don’t turn me in! You’ve heard the stories about inside the wall, right? I’ll do anything, just don’t report me!” I pleaded desperately. My pride took a slight beating, but hey, my future was on the line, I think my ego would survive. 

Behind them, Daz stirred. They both dropped to their knees to help him. I immediately started backing up, hoping to run away as fast as possible. I was halfway out the door when a voice stopped me. 

“Jean” 

I turned to see Daz looking at me, face contorted with anger. 

“I’ll get you for this, you-” 

“Daz!” Hannah interrupted “ Don’t start this again!” She turned to me. “We won't turn you  in-” 

Daz protests, but quickly stops when Hannah turns and glares at him. 

“ - _ but _ you have to be more careful in the future. Another incident like this and you might be classified as a threat.” 

I shuddered, remembering the video of the kid from just outside of Trost who had been classified as a threat. He had gotten tased repeatedly, then drugged up. Not exactly on my list of fun experiences. 

“What about me?” Daz protests. 

“You’re fine. And if anyone asks, we’ll tell them that you stuck a fork in an electrical socket. Knowing you, I doubt anyone would be surprised” says Franz, earning a giggle from Hannah. 

As Daz sputters, I flee the room.  

  
  


Connie

  
  


His masterpiece was finally finished. Mr. Pixis’ bald head shone, his mustache was curled like a stereotypical villains, and his smile was missing many teeth. Grinning, Connie adds the finishing touch, a bottle of alcohol, almost empty. Then he put down the Expo-marker. Proudly, he walked out of the classroom, grinning broadly. Then, he heard Mr. Pixis yell his name. 

“Fuck” Maybe he shouldn't have signed his name… 

Terrified, he pelted down the hallway. As he turned the corner, he heard sounds of pursuit. He sprinted faster for the front door.  

Then, he felt like he had mentally moved up to fifth gear. In a second, he was out the door and at the edge of the steps. He windmilled his arms for a moment, before 

“Oof!” 

He tumbled down the stairs and landed with his butt in the air. He quickly righted himself and scratched his head in confusion. It had taken him a second to run down a hall that normally took 30. WHILE SPRINTING! 

“Connie!” 

_ Well  _ he scolded mentally, jumping to his feet,  _ I’ll figure  _ _** that  ** _ _ out later. _

  
  


Sasha

  
  


She was  _ finally  _ out of detention, and craving a victory snack. She walked up to the school vending machine, licking her lips. She put in her money and punched in the number for her favorite potato chips. She jumped lightly from foot to foot in anticipation. The spiral turned, the bag moved forward… and stopped. Her face fell. 

“Aww,maan,” she put her hands behind her head and leaned back, staring at the ceiling, “that was my last dollar too.” She kicked the machine in annoyance 

And heard the sound of shattering glass and rendering metal. Sasha froze. She slowly tilted her head to the left, then right, then further back. No one in sight. Then she faced forward and her mouth dropped open. The glass had shattered and the grate was hanging by a single screw. She smiled evilly and extracted her foot from the new massive dent at the bottom and rubbed her hands together, looking at the new selection of free greasy snack food. she grabbed as much as she could fit in her bag and ran to her bike. She knew exactly who to share her stockpile with.

  
  


\- 

  
  


Sasha dropped her bike in the open garage and used her key to get in. 

“Hey, Connie,” she yelled, “ You will never believe what just happened!” She leaped over the back of the couch and Connie paused his game, taking off his headphones. She opened her backpack and showed him her collection. 

“Oh my god, Sasha, when did you become a billionaire? This must have cost a fortune!” 

“ I kicked the vending machine at school and it broke!” Connie stared at her, mouth open. 

“Uh...oh dear, I think I broke my best friend.” she muttered. She thought for second,  then draws back a fist. 

That snapped him out of his reverie. 

“ Whoa, whoa, wait, don’t punch me, I think you might have super strength,  _ please  _ don’t break my arm!” Connie said quickly, almost flying backwards off the couch. It was Sasha's turn to stare agape. 

“Connie…” 

“...Yeah?” 

“...How did you get across the room so fast?” 

“Oh, I figured that out last week, running away from Mr. Pixis” He laughs at the memory. 

“  And you decided not to tell me?!”  _ That hurts… _ “ I thought we were best friends. I thought we told each other everything!”  _ Well, not  _ _ everything _ _ , _ she thought,  _ I would prefer not to make it awkward…  _

“I’m sorry, Sasha, I was going to tell you, but… You’ve heard the stories about what goes on behind the Wall…” 

“ You did not trust me?!” 

“ Of course I trust you! I just… I don’t know.” he says, rubbing the back of his neck. He sighed and looked away. “I’m sorry, Sash.” he says softly.   

Sasha was quiet for a moment. Connie had not called her Sash since 7th grade… She realized Connie was staring at her. He looked so sad… 

“Of course I forgive you, Baldie!” She jumped off the sofa and hugged him, rubbing his bald head. 

“Hey!” he exclaimed, pushing her hands away and… was he blushing? Nah, must be her imagination. 

“Now, lets have some fun! Movie marathon? Snacks are on me, of course.” Sasha said, smiling slyly. Connie laughed. 

“God, that was hardly even a joke! Monty Python?” 

“ You know me sooo well”

  
  


\- 

Marco 

  
  


When he was six, almost seven, Marco’s dad was taken behind the Wall. His little sister, Claire, had just turned four, and he remembered how much she had cried when the MPs had taken him away. His mom was scared, but his father had smiled, and told her that everything would be fine, and he would write often. 

A month went by and Marco’s mother became more and more withdrawn. Then, two letters came, one for him and one for his mother, from his father. He wrote about what had happened, how things were going, the people he had met, that he was fine. After that, a letter came every week.

  
  


\- 

  
  


Marco loved the garden. He would sit in the limbs of the oak tree in the yard, reading, or take a nap in the flower bed. The plants calmed him, made him happy.  

  
  


One day, the same year his father was taken away, but before he got back from a trip, Marco was sitting in the tree, reading. Claire came out and played for a bit before running back inside, but Marco was so focused on his book that he hardly noticed.  

  
  


“Marco?” His mothers voice alerted him to her presence. She looked a little worried in the rapidly fading light. 

“Yes?” 

“What are you doing?” 

“I’m reading.” He says, confused. 

“No, I mean with the tree.” 

“Um, sitting?”  

“You don’t even know you’re doing it, do you?” she whispered, incredulous. 

Marco blinked. “What?” 

“Marco, the tree branches are turning the pages for you.” 

I looked down. “So?” 

Mom sighed. “Marco, you can’t do that in front of anyone, okay?” 

“Why?” 

“Because...people will assume you’re dangerous and they’ll lock you away.” 

“...Like dad?” 

“Yeah” 

I climbed down from the tree and hugged mom. “I promise I won't show anyone, okay?” 

“Good.” she says, drying her eyes. “ Now inside, its time for dinner.” 

  
  


\- 

  
  


I kept my promise, though I practiced until I could do almost anything I wanted with plants. I could even make them grow from my body sometimes, but only when really stressed or scared or worried. But that's another story. 

  
  


I took my promise a little too far. I was worried I might accidentally show someone, so I only made one friend in elementary school, but she moved away by middle school. Plants were my main friends. It got pretty lonely. But I always remembered my promise, and kept to myself. 

  
  


Until sophomore year of high school. When I broke my promise. 

  
  


\- 

  
  


I was walking home one day in September, head down, hood up, headphones in, when I smelled smoke. I looked up and a block over, an apartment building was on fire. I saw a few people in the upper stories, reaching out. I didn’t know if the sirens I could hear in the distance would make it in time. I saw a tall tree near the building. I remembered my promise to mother. 

  
  


I walked closer to the building and focused. The tree branches started to move closer to the window. I concentrated harder and then the branches were in reach. The man in window climbed out and grabbed the young boy passed to him by the other man. Then all three climbed down. Once they reached the ground, I let the tree back to its original position. 

“Did you see that?” 

“Yeah, I got it all on video. Now the whole world can see!” 

“Think it was one of those specials?” 

“I bet it was! Think they’re still here?” 

I quickly ducked into a nearby alleyway and ran straight into a bald kid and a auburn-haired girl eating potato chips. They looked at me in interest. 

“Was that you?” the girl asked, spraying me with crumbs. 

“What? Me...no,no of course not. What are you talking about? Haha…” I knew I was babbling, but I couldn’t stop. My secret was out! 

“Hey, calm down, we’re not gonna turn you in, we just want to talk.” the boy hold up his hands in a placating gesture. 

“Um...okay, sure” 

“Come on back to my house. Oh, my name’s Connie and this is Sasha. We’re like you.” Connie grins. 

My eyes widen. Maybe I can make friends after all.

 


	2. Meeting

**Marco**

"So, you're telling me that Sasha has super strength and you have super speed?"

"Yeah. And you can control plants? Dude, that's so awesome!" Connie exclaims. I'm at his house, sitting at one end of the sofa. Connie sat at the other end and Sasha sat in the middle, eating. Again. How she could eat so much, the world may never know. Maybe it's a side effect of the super strength.

"Do you think there are others like us? Here, in our city?" Sasha asked.

"Well, probably. We do live in a relatively large city." I said.

" Think we know any?" Connie asked, leaning forward.

"Maybe" Sasha said. "Well, I bet now there'll be a bunch of MP's around here, trying to find you."

The blood drained from my face. I remembered when they took my dad. His letters said it wasn't all bad behind the Wall, but he did mention tests to try to understand how some people had powers and others didn't. Dad wouldn't describe what happened, but that  made the prospect more terrifying. I did not want to think through the possibilities, though my mind always did anyway.

"Hey, hey, calm down, we're not gonna turn you in or anything. They'll leave pretty quick." Connie said.

"Yeah, yeah, of course" I muttered. Then I remembered my promise. "Oh, jeez, I forgot, I need to go back home, my mom is probably freaking out now. I promised I wouldn't show anyone and know the whole world knows-"

"Wait,wait, wait, wait. Your mom knows?" Sasha exclaimed, stopping me halfway to the door.

"Yeah, she was always watching for any sign of special abilities after my dad was taken behind the Wall."

Connie and Sasha stared at me, matching sympathetic expressions crossing their faces. I started to fidget, unused to the attention.

"I'm sorry to hear that, man. Do you ever... talk to him?" Sasha asked.

"Yeah, he sends a letter every week. He says the place isn't as bad as everyone says it is, but he says there are tests... and I don't really want to be stuck in a prison my whole life, just for being different." I say.

" Me either" Connie says, shuddering. Sasha strokes her nonexistent beard, deep in thought.

"Hey, if they ever suspect one of us, we should run away! It'd be like, an adventure!" Sasha yells, bouncing off the sofa.

"That sounds nice." I smile "I've never had friends that would help me escape authority like that before." I was touched. Connie looked shocked.

"Dude. What else are friends for?"

I laugh and walk outside.

**Jean**

I sit in my room, doing my homework. Or watching tv with my homework in front of me on my bed. Same difference. I flip through the channels at random. Nothing interesting is on anyways- except the news has a breaking news from Trost, a few blocks from my school actually. I un-mute the tv.

"-a fire in the third story. But even more astounding is this rescue." The screen start playing some bad footage,  probably from a phone, showing nothing of inte- _holy shit. Is that tree branch moving on its own?_

"This appears to be the work of a special. But are they really on our side? More to come later"

I grunt in annoyance and turn off the tv. Of course the 'special' has to have another motive to save someone. They can't just be a good person, right? God. But another part of me wishes that, whoever saved these people, hadn't. Now there would be MP's everywhere and it would be that much harder to keep my temper in check and not accidentally electrocute someone. Again. Speaking of which, Daz could suddenly decide to break his promise and tell them about me, sentencing me to a lifetime sentence in the walled community, more like prison if you ask me, where anyone with special powers is sent to be monitored and tested on. I'd rather stick my hand in an electrical socket than get sent there. _Although I don't know if that would do anything to me anymore..._

Anyway, chemistry was calling my name. I sighed and resigned myself to my fate of clueless attempts to understand formulas. And just science in general. Fuck science.

-

**Marco**

When I got home, Claire greeted me with a cry of "you’re on the news!"

My heart rose in my throat and my stomach went into freefall. I ran inside to the living room to see footage of the incident.

"Marco, that's amazing, you're a hero now!" Claire says, hugging me tight. I slip away and  turn to mom.

"I'm so sorry, I broke my promise-"

"No one knows it was you , don't worry" she smiles and hugs me. "I'm so proud of you, you saved those people."

My stomach gets hotter than the surface of the sun. But in a good way. Not a painful-fiery-death way

"Thanks mom. But, someone does know it was me. Don't worry though" I quickly assure her as her face turns to one of horror. "They wouldn't tell. They would get sent behind the Wall too."

My mom looks shocked. Her voice drops to a conspiratorial whisper.  

"You met others?"

"Yeah, they go to my school. They said if the MPs find out, we'll all run away together and have an adventure." I smile at the memory.

My mother starts crying. I freak out. _Did I say something wrong? Oh gosh darn it, mom, I’m sorry!_

"I'm so happy you finally made some friends.” _Never mind, all good_  “And to think they have abilities too! Maybe you should invite them over sometime"

I smile at the thought.  

"Maybe"

-

**Jean**

"Hey Jean! Did you hear about what happened yesterday?" Hannah runs up to me as I walk into school the next day.

"Of course, it was all over the news". I couldn't escape it.

"Do you know who did it?" She asks in a low whisper.

"Oh, let me just consult my sixth sense on other specials, I'll be right with you- of course I don't know who it was! I don't know anyone else with abilities around here. I thought I was the only one!" I say sarcastically and roll my eyes. People sometimes. Or all the time.

"Hey, it was just a question, Jean, you don't have to be so rude." Franz says, frowning at me. I sigh.

"Sorry, I was stressing all night, I didn't sleep well."

"Don't worry about it. And don't stress so much, we wouldn't tell the MPs, no matter how much of a jerk Daz is he'll never tell on you." Hannah assures me.

"I know." I sigh and walk to my first class as the bell rings.

-

**Connie**

"Hey, Daz, did you see the news yesterday?" I say.

"Yeah, but if a special was gonna be in the news, I expected it to be for sending someone to a hospital, not for saving people." That comment sent my suspicion-meter through the roof. _Time for some snooping. Detective Springer on the case!_

"What does that mean?"

"Well, Kirschstien never was good at... Oops." Daz covered his mouth, looking scared. Bingo, I was spot-on. _High five self. Yeah, self, nice job!_ "Uh, f-forget i ever said anything."

"Of course Daz. See you later."

Looks like theres another special in the school. Maybe an introduction was in order.

-

**Jean**

I was hanging out by myself at lunch, the usual. I had already eaten my food and was listening to everyone talk nonstop. It can be very soothing to listen to.

"Hey"

"Maybe he fell asleep"

"Maybe he wants to be left alone"

I ignore the nearby voices. Maybe they'll go away. That usually works with creatures of low intelligence.

"Too bad, I'm going to talk to him."

A shoe suddenly taps my calf. I open my eyes to see a girl with red -brown hair falling out of a ponytail standing over me, crumbs dotting her t-shirt and jeans.

"The hell do you want?" I ask, raising an eyebrow.

"Man, I always wished I could do that." The bald kid kicks the ground, scuffing his already damaged sneakers. He's dressed almost the same as the girl, and my social senses say they're friends , though as my social anything has never been put to the test, so I could be very wrong.

"Uh, we should probably leave him alone guys." The third person says. I level my glare at him and he shrinks in on himself, hiding in his hoodie. I'll admit, he was pretty cute, but I didn't like being disturbed, so he had probably ruined his chance for a date. For now anyway.

"You should probably listen to Freckles, before I get pissed." Freckles frowned, eyebrows scrunching in. He didn’t seem to appreciate the nickname.

-

**Marco**

I did not like the nickname.

Connie told me that I had to meet this guy, but I didn't see why. Maybe he just pushed people away, but with his prickly attitude, glare and ear piercings, he did such a good job he seemed lonely while we had approached. Now, I think maybe he just didn't want any friends.

The boy sat up, sighing and fidgeting with his t-shirt, tight jeans and beanie covering his two-tone hair.

"Just leave already" he muttered.

"Oh no," Connie said with a maniacal grin, "not until you tell us about your ability"

The boy froze, a look of terror on his face that quickly changed to anger.

"Who told you!" He yelled "Tell me!"

"Whoa there, buddy, we just want to talk" Sasha soothes, "we're not gonna turn you in"

The boy relaxes a little and says

"It was Daz, wasn't it"

"Bingo" Connie says. "He said he expected you putting someone into the hospital instead of Marco here saving someone" Connie chuckled.

"Connie!" I yelled "You can't just go around saying stuff like that" I whisper, looking around.

"That was you?" The boy asks, looking skeptical.

"Yeah, we saw him" Sasha says. "Oh, by the way I'm Sasha and this is Connie."

"Jean" he replies "Why did you save those people?" he asks me.

"Well I wasn't just going to let them die!" I reply. What kind of guy is Jean, that he wouldn't save someone's life if he could.

"The firefighters probably would have gotten there in time" he says "plus, now I have to worry even more about being found out by the MPs."

I scowl. "Of course thats a problem, but you would have just walked away?"

"I wouldn't have been much help." He says, rolling his eyes.

"Why not?" Sasha asks.

"Unless they wanted a faster death from electrocution, there wouldn't be anything I could do." Jean says with a shrug.

"So now we have super strength, super speed, plant powers and electricity. Quite the variety , wouldn't you say?" Connie asks with a grin.

"Wait, you guys have abilities too?" Jean says, surprised.

"Yup, I have super strength!" Sasha says, flexing her muscles.

"Hey, be careful with those guns, you might hurt someone" I say with a laugh. Connie and Sasha crack up, and even Jean cracks a little smile. It makes him look a lot nicer. I never realized how nice it was to have friends. I would definitely need to invite them over soon.

"Will Marco Bodt report to the office please"

The announcement runs again as we all trade confused glances.

"I didn't peg you for a troublemaker, freckles" Jean says.

"I'm not" I reply "Must be a mistake or something, I'll go clear it up. See you guys later" I wave as I walk away.

I wonder why they called for me?

****  
  



	3. Set in motion

**Marco**

 

I walked towards the office, a little worried. Maybe mom had an accident. Maybe Claire had gotten sick. I walk past the empty spot where the vending machine used to be. Apparently someone had decided to take a hammer to it one or twenty times and taken a bunch of food and the school hadn’t gotten a replacement yet. I walked into the office.

“Mr. Zackly will see you in his office” the secretary told me, gesturing toward the hallway, “last door on the right.”

I thanked him and kept walking, very nervous now. Why would the principal, of all people, want to see me. I knocked on his door.

“Come in” I complied. “Ah, you must be Mr.Bodt.” he said, looking at me over spectacles.

“Please, Marco’s fine” I replied nervously, “ You..  wanted to see me, sir?”

“Please, no need for that” he said, waving me to a seat. “ I just wanted to let you know that because your father is already behind the Wall, the MPs are going to test you first thing tomorrow before everyone else to make sure you don't have any… special abilities. Its just a formality, you understand, because of your father…”

By that point, I wasn’t listening anymore. There was no way I could take that test. I would definitely  be found out and taken behind the Wall. And, before everyone else? What did that mean for Sasha, Connie and Jean? They would be found out too! The MPs are taking this much more seriously than I thought they would.

“Marco?” I realised Mr. Zackly had stopped talking.

“Thank you for letting me know” I said quickly. I have to tell them right away! “I really need to get to class”

“Of course, of course. Goodbye Marco”

I had to keep myself from sprinting out of his office.

**Connie**

During 6th period, Marco was jumpy. He kept watching the clock and wouldn’t sit still. When the bell finally rang, he leapt out of his chair and ran to me like he had super speed. But of course, that was me (the one with super speed, that is).

“Connie, we can’t stay here!” he said in an urgent whisper, “They're coming and they’ll catch us and-”

“Whoa there, buddy, breathe!” I said. “Now, who will get us?”

“The MPs! They’re coming tomorrow and testing everyone, starting with me!” Dude looked terrified, eyes moving quickly between me and the door, like he expected them to come for him now.

“What? How do you know? Why you first?”

“Mr.Zackly told me. I’ll explain later. Meet me in the courtyard?”

“Sure. I’ll text Sasha and get her to tell Jean. See ya!”

“Yeah, sure, see you”

Man, was he a nervous wreck. Not that I could blame him. I quickly sent a text to Sasha and hurried to my class as the bell rang.  

**Jean**

I spent all of chemistry listening to the teacher, which is code for staring out the window and tuning her out. I wondered why Marco had called a ‘supers meeting’ as Sasha called it. The MPs are probably coming because he just had to play hero, I thought. Jeez, couldn’t he have just let the firefighters do their jobs?

The bell finally rang, freeing me from the torture chamber called the classroom. I walked quickly down to the courtyard to find Marco pacing nervously and Connie and Sasha sitting on a bench.

“So whats the big deal?” I ask, throwing myself down on another bench.

“The MPs are coming tomorrow to test us for special abilities!” Marco exclaims. He really needs to chill.

“So, why are you being tested first? Why would they suspect you?” Sasha asks. Oh. No wonder Marcos freaking out. He can’t even just skip school, they’ll probably just go to his house if he’s on their radar already.  

“My dad. He had abilities too. He got taken when I was three.” Marco says.

“Oof. Sorry to hear that, man.” I says.

“Its fine, I still get letters from him all the time. It doesn’t sound that bad, but he obviously doesn’t tell us everything and I don’t really want to be trapped in a walled community for the rest of my life.”

“This is why you shouldn’t have done anything.” I muttered.

“What?” Marco said.

“Just thanking you for the warning. See ya.” Wouldn’t wanna be ya.

“Wait, we can’t just let them take him!” Connie exclaims.

“That doesn’t affect me. Theres nothing I can do!”

“We were all planning on running away together if something like this happened” Sasha said through a mouthful of pretzels. How she can eat so much is beyond me.

“Why should I do that? I’ve only just met you today!”

“I get that, but what about the test?” Sasha presses.

I shrug. “I’ll just skip tomorrow”

“It probably won’t be that easy to get around it, but okay, suit yourself” Sasha says, and turns back to her food.

“Just, think about it, okay? We’ll meet at my house by 9, if you’re not there by then, we’ll leave without you.” Marco says, looking concerned.

“Yeah, sure.” I reply, heading for the buses.  

**Connie**

Marco had offered to let us eat at his house, so all I had to worry about was grabbing all my stuff and heading out. I grabbed some clean clothes, my toothbrush, and the money I had saved from my birthday and Christmas. I thought for a minute, then grabbed some granola bars. Sasha always gets hungry and begs for food, so it wouldn’t hurt. I walk over to my mom in the living room. She’s been having a hard time getting around recently, so she mostly just stayed in her chair by the tv or upstairs. I felt kind of guilty lying to her, but I couldn’t just tell her. She would try and convince me to stay, and I couldn’t.

“Hey mom, I’m going to stay over at Sashas tonight, okay. Don’t worry about me.”

“All right Connie,” she said with a smile, “have fun”

I left the house feeling the guilt weigh down my shoulders. But I didn’t turn around.  

**Sasha**

After mom left for work around 7:30, I grabbed my clothes, toiletries, and as many snacks as I could fit in my bag. And my pocket knife, of course. Never know when it might come in handy. I grabbed all the money I had saved for just this sort of occasion and wrote a note.

Dear mom and dad,

You do not need to worry about me, I am fine. I just had to leave because, well, I can’t really stay anymore, what with the MPs coming. I don’t want to have to live behind the Wall for the rest of my life.

                                                                       Sasha  

P.S; If Connie’s parents ask, he came with me. He is fine too.

She left it on her bed, knowing the soonest it would be found would be tomorrow night, as her father was out on a hunting trip and her mother would not check on her in the morning.

**Marco**

Mom approved of my friends. So did Claire. We ate my mother's homemade chili and talked for a while. My mom told us that tomorrow morning, when we got to the last stop of the commuter train, out at the very edge of Trost, we could stay with a friend of hers, who lived somewhat nearby, although we would have to bike a few hours to get there. After that, we’re on our own. My mother kept warning us to be careful, biking through the city at night, but with abilities like Sashas, I wasn’t too worried. The clock quickly counted down to 9, and with every passing minute my worry increased. Would Jean come? If not, how would he escape the test? I’m sure he would be fine, he seemed pretty smart. But he seemed nice, and I would like to be his friend. But maybe I was pushing my luck, two friends was a new record, after all.

9 o'clock, and still no sign of him. “Well, looks like Sparky decided not to come” Connie says with a shrug.

“I hope he knows what he’s doing” my mother sighed.

“I am sure he will be fine, Mrs. Bodt.” Sasha assures her. I grab my bag and hug my mom. “Be careful” she says, tears threatening to overflow.

“I’ll be fine,mom, don’t worry” I hug Claire, then head out to grab our bikes.

“Maybe we should wait for a bit, maybe he’s just-”

“Nah, man, Jean’s not coming” Connie says. “Come on, lets go”

We mount our bikes and head to the nearest train stop.

-

By 10:45, we get to the end of the line, way out in the suburbs. We get off the train and head down to the street. We consult the map for a bit.

“So, until Giant Cedar street, we go straight, then turn right, follow the train tracks until Garrison road, number 104.” I say.

“Alright, that seems easy enough.” Sasha says over the noise of another train pulling in. We pack up all our stuff and are getting on our bikes when a voice behind us says, “Wait!”

I turn, expecting a police officer, or maybe a concerned adult, wondering where we’re going so late at night. But instead, Jean comes running towards us, pushing a bike.

“Hey, Sparky, didn’t think you were coming!” Connie says.

“I wasn’t planning on it, I’m lucky your sister told me where you were headed” He says, looking at me, “And don’t call me Sparky”

“What made you change your mind?” I ask.

“Well…”

**Jean**

When I got home, I did my homework and sat on the couch, watching tv. My mom eventually called me in for dinner.

“So,” my dad says halfway through dinner, “ did you see the news yesterday? About the special in Trost?”

“Yeah, kinda hard to miss.” I say sarcastically.

“Don’t sass me, young man. Well, I hear they are running tests in your school to see who the culprit was”

“Culprit? They saved three people, dad. Thats a good thing”

“No special is a good thing, son, remember that. They’re always trying to further themselves. The delinquent is probably threatening those people for money now!” He says loudly.

I grimace, thinking of the ‘delinquent’ my father had mentioned. Marco would never do something like that.

When I get back to my room, I start thinking. I knew my dad had strong opinions on specials, but I didn’t know it was that bad. If he thought Marco, with his peaceful abilities, was that terrible, what would he think of me, with such violent and uncontrollable powers? I realised that, even if I got away from the MPs, I couldn't escape my family. They would find out eventually and I had no idea how he would react. I decided I couldn’t stay, and started packing. Once I had everything, I wrote a quick note telling my parents I was fine and not to worry, you know, the usual. As I slipped out the window into the limbs of the nearby tree, I looked at the clock. And freaked. out. It was already 9:05! I biked over to Marcos house as quickly as possible, but of course, they had already left. I sighed and sat on the curb. I didn’t even know where they were headed. It looked like I was stuck here.

Then the door opened behind me. A girl, probably about 13 years old, looked outside. “Were you looking for Marco and his friends?” she asks.

“Yeah, do you know where they went?”

“Yes” I perked up at that. “but-” uh oh “you have to prove you have abilities too.” She crossed her arms and looked smug. I felt anger coursing through my veins. Showing her wouldn’t be a problem. It was controlling my power that would be a problem. I focused hard on sending the electricity between my hands and not at her face. Blue lightning flashed between them for a minute, before I succeeded in controlling my temper. She looked amazed and I felt proud that I hadn’t electrocuted her.  

“They took the C train to the end, then they’re headed to 104, Garrison road.” she said.

“Thanks” I said and hopped on my bike, pedalling rapidly.

**Marco**

“Then I saw you guys.” Jean says, finishing his story.

“You’re lucky you caught us.” I say, “we were just about to leave.”

“Lets get going, then.” Sasha says. “It will take two hours, we will get there at 1 as it is.”

At that, we hop on our bikes and start pedaling.

-

Half an hour later, we reach Giant Cedar street. We had seen some people, but no one had bothered us. We turned onto the smaller street that ran along the tracks. After a few blocks, we saw a group of about 10 people, all about college age.

“Just move to the other side of the street” Sasha suggested quietly. We do. And so do they.

“Maybe we should move to a different street” I say nervously. But its too late. There are no new streets between them and us, and turning around would take too much time.

“Hey, kiddies.” One of them says, moving forward menacingly, “We don’t want any trouble”

“Yeah, just give us any money you got, and your bikes, and we won’t have any need for violence.” another said, smiling widely and smacking his palm with his fist. I could feel my finger start to twitch, showing my fear, and the oncoming rush of adrenaline. I pulled one of my hands into a fist and feel the roots under the sidewalk, knew which plants I could use. . The last time this had happened, I had been convinced there was a burglar in our house, three years ago, after watching a horror movie late at night. Our garden had a thicket of rose bushes overnight. maybe not very threatening to you, but with thorns three times the normal size, they could be pretty threatening. Like then, I didn’t want to hurt anyone, but I wasn’t about to let these thugs hurt my friends.

Of course, my friends could take care of themselves. Sasha got off her bike and punched the first guy in the face. The sound of crunching bone was loud in my ears and I winced. The man reeled back, then held his hand to his nose. It had obviously been broken, shooting blood, and his cheekbones might have been fractured too. Jean held out his hand and blue bolts of electricity shot from his fingers and into the chests of three others, causing them to convulse slightly and fall to the ground bonelessly.

“They’ve got a taser or something!” one of them yelled. At that, most of them ran, grabbing their friends.

“Hey, come back!” one yelled, then realised he was alone. Sasha smashed her fist into her palm, grinning. The man ran. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, the adrenaline wearing off slowly and my hands unclenching, letting the plants return to their calm state underground.

“Well, that was fun” Sasha said, grabbing her bike.

“Dude, that was awesome!” Connie exclaimed, “ You smashed his face in, Sasha! And Jean, that was sooo cool, you hit three at once-”

“We should probably get going now.” I interrupt, looking around warily.

“Yeah, don’t want anyone else to show up” Jean says, without much energy. I look at him. He looks really tired, more than just lack of sleep.

“Jean, are you okay?” I ask. He waves off my concern.

“I’ll be fine, just haven’t used my ability this much before. lets go”

-

We get to Mrs. Wagner’s house at 1:03 am. The lights in the living room are on and before we can knock, the door opens. Mrs.Wagner ushers us inside and says

“I didn’t expect four of you but thats okay. I have two beds up here and two couches downstairs. You can leave whenever in the morning as long as you lock the door, but try to leave before three so you don’t run into Thomas. He’ll wonder why you’re here.”  We thank her and Connie and Sasha decide to sleep downstairs on the couches. They head down and Mrs.Wagner leads me and Jean down the hall to the guest rooms. Jean claims the first one and I head to the second. Mrs Wagner stops me at the door.

“If you ever need a little help” she says,” don’t hesitate to call me” and she hands me a slip of paper. I thank her and head into the room. After changing into my pajamas, I put her number into my phone and lay down, too tired to brush my teeth. As I nod off, I think _Well, so far, we’re okay._


	4. On the road Part I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry that it took so long to get this chapter out. Between performances for my play and tests at school, I had so much to do I... kinda forgot to put this chapter up. Oops. Anyway, thanks for still reading this stuff (not quite sure why you do...) and I promise I'll try to be faster with updates. At least until I reach the end of what I have planned. After that, I'm afraid I can't make any promises. Anyways, enough of my rambling, here's the chapter. 
> 
> Hope you like it. 
> 
> P.S: Thanks for all the kudos and comments. Its nice to now people actually like what I write.

**Marco**

I woke up to sunlight shining in my eyes. When I opened them, I froze. I had no idea where I was. I was a second away from jumping up and out the window when I remembered what had happened last night, and very early this morning. After such a late and eventful night, I figured I had slept until at least 10, maybe later... I turned my head and saw, in glaring red, 8:45. Darn it, I thought,still can't sleep past 9. I grumbled, but I knew that no matter how much I hoped and how tired I felt, there was no sleep for me in the near future. I got up, and considered taking a shower, before deciding that might be taking Ms.Wagner's generosity too far. I put on a clean shirt and boxers, and my jeans from yesterday, and headed to the kitchen to make some tea, hopefully black.

**\-----**

After drinking some tea (no black, unfortunately) and eating some toast, I sat at the island with my head on my arm, watching a nasturtium vine waving in the breeze while waiting for the others to wake. The vine waved toward the window, before trying to slip under the window frame. I smiled and opened the window, happy to have something to remedy my boredom. I left my arm outstretched and watched as the vine slowly wound its way up my arm until it reached my shoulder. Once there, a bud at the end slowly uncurled and became a beautiful yellow flower. I smiled softly as the flower softly stroked my face. It had always seemed to me as if the plants just instinctively knew what I needed, that they really did understand me. My mother told me it was probably my brain unconsciously using my ability to calm me, but I liked the thought that the plants were watching out for me, like guardian angels. _Or guardian azaleas._ I smiled at my own terrible pun, and the vine tightened slightly around my arm, as if it was laughing with me. I started stroking the vine with my thumb, allowing the repetitive motion to calm my anxiety.

"Morning..."

I turned quickly to see Sasha and Connie slump into chairs at the dining table. Connie yawned as Sasha asked how I had slept.

"Fine, thanks" I snuck a look at the clock and saw it was almost 11. "Should we wake Jean?"

"You can wake him if you want." said Connie "but I don't think sleeping beauty will thank you"

I got up, letting the vine wind back outside before closing the window. Then I walked to the other bedroom. I opened the door to see a large, blanket-covered lump. All I could see of Jean was his hair and a foot sticking out from under the covers. I walked over and nudged him.

"Hu... Five more minutes..."

I scowled and shook his shoulder. I received a pillow to the face for my efforts. And Jean was still asleep. How this was possible was beyond me. I sighed and grabbed the end of the blanket.

"Come on Jean, don't make this harder than you have to." I tugged slightly at the blanket before Jean shot up and grabbed it. He looked slightly red, and then glared at me. "I'm up, I'm up, now let me put on some clothes" he said, not looking at me. I blinked in confusion at his attitude, but turned to leave. As I was leaving, I saw that Jeans clothes, ALL of them, we're on the  floor and his bag was unopened. I blushed when I realized that that meant he wasn't wearing anything, and I closed the door quickly, not wanting to prolong the awkwardness.

-

**Jean**

After getting dressed and eating breakfast (and making a mental note to at least start wearing a pair of boxers to sleep), we talked about where we were headed next.

"We should probably go to a small town out of the way to escape notice" Sasha said.

"But in a small town, people are more likely to notice strangers, and it would be harder to find a place to stay. We should go to a big city, people don't notice others as much, and kids all by themselves don't attract as much attention. " I say, remembering my own experiences when visiting a big city.

"That's true, plus a big city would be closer" Marco says. I feel happy that he agrees with me, but the memory of this morning reminds me that we still don't know each other well. All my family knows to wake me up without taking my blankets, and any good friend would know that too. Not that I had any. Hopefully Marco would take that occupation. Or maybe more than a friend...

"But which one?" He continued.

"How about the closest one around?" Connie asked with a grin. We all knew he was referring to the 3 sisters. They were three large cities that had grown so big and close to each other most people consider them one city.

"That's a little far, don't you think?" I say. The city was at least a week away by bike.

"You want a big city, that's about as big as you can get around here" Connie says. I think about it and sigh.

"All right, but what about food and shelter on the way there, not to mention when we get there?" Marco asks, obviously nervous. I frown.

."Wasn't this your idea?" I ask.

"Actually it was mine. But it's not like we had much time to plan" Connie says. I sigh loudly and run a hand over my face. "I suppose this means you have no plan, then"

" No," Sasha says smugly, "we know we are going to the Three Sisters" I groan and put my head in my hands.

\-----

 In the end, we decide to bike in the right direction until it gets too late, then find a motel or something. So that's what we do. We make it to a town called Luxesant, a few towns over, before we stop and find a rundown motel unlikely to turn away any customers, even if it's just a group of teenagers. Then we grab some food from a fast-food chain. Luckily, we all had some money saved up, and Marcos mother had given him a credit card, telling him she would add money when she could. So we wouldn't starve, but we tried to save as much as we could, knowing we had no plan for the future.

And that night, I made sure to wear my boxers. Especially because we only rented one room and I was sharing a bed with Marco. It would be better if I knew if I had a chance with him. And if we were alone. But I'll take what I can get.

-

**Connie**

I woke up early. Always happens when I'm anxious about something. Like what we would do once we got to the city. I got up off the couch and turned to the two double beds.

And smiled at the sight of Jean with his arm over Marco and Marco holding his hand. I could tell Jean had an interest in Marco, but this was unexpected. I took a few pictures before a rumbling from the other bed brought my attention to Sasha. She was sitting up, holding her stomach, with her hair a mess. She still looked really pretty to me. Not that I would telI her, of course. Wouldn’t want to ruin an awesome friendship, after all.

"Can we get breakfast?" She whines.

"Take a shower first, you reek" I say with a smile. She sticks out her tongue and smiles.

"Look who's talking" she shoots over her shoulder as she walks into the bathroom. I smile and sit down, waiting for my turn.

-

**Marco**

I woke up feeling calm for the first time in two days. I felt warm and safe and I closed my eyes again and squirmed back a little.

"Ugh..."

My eyes flew open and I realized I was holding someone's hand and my back was against their chest. I quickly disentangle myself and turn to see Jeans sleeping face. He doesn't look as frightening asleep. He looks like a nice person... And a very attractive one. I get up slowly so I don't disturb him and ponder my last thought. I had been attracted to people before, but it always went away quickly and I had never given my sexuality much thought, because I didn't think it was a big deal who I liked. So I left it alone again. Its not a big deal, after all. I could decide later.

I looked around and saw a note on the nightstand. It was from Connie and it said that they had gone to get breakfast. He also mentioned that he thought we were a cute couple and I laughed at that. I had a feeling that even if Jean was interested in guys, someone like me wouldn't be his type. I thought about my situation for a bit. It had only been about a day or so since I met him. I decided to wait for a few months to see how I felt. _After all, he could be a terrible person or something. Aren’t most attractive people jerks anyways?_ Then I would decide whether or not to tell him. Having made my decision, I went to shower.

-

**Jean**

I woke feeling cold, and with the feeling that something was missing. Of course, everything I had ever had was currently missing, but it felt like it was a little more important than all that. A voice distracted me from my thoughts.

"You should shower now, the McDonalds will only be serving breakfast for another hour"

I sat up and saw Marco, sitting at the end of the bed, fully dressed and ready to go.

"You can go ahead" I say "I'll meet you there"

"Okay" he leaves.

The feeling gets stronger and I kind of wish he had stayed.

-

After breakfast, we head out. It's Saturday, so there are more people out, and we don't stand out like sore thumbs. When we stop for dinner, it's in a small town, kind of like a farming town, but only, like, 20 miles from normal suburbs. But it's nice. Of course, it doesn't appear to have a motel, so we'll need to keep going. _*sigh*_

We decide to treat ourselves by going to a diner. It's almost empty, which is nice, and it's one of those ones that tries to look like it's from the 60s or something.

Our waitress is a girl, about our age, short blonde hair, and her name tag has lots of flowers, but I can't read the name. She's really nice, though, and talks with us after bringing our food. She talks about her family some, so do Marco and the others, sharing stories. I stay out of it and concentrate on my food until I hear

"If your mom is that bad, maybe you should join us!"

"Sasha, what the hell? You can't just invite random people to join us! Besides we... Ugh, we just can't!" I couldn't just tell someone why we had left. They might hate us, or worse, turn us in.

"I would love to come with you, but if you don't want me to..."

"We want you to!" Connie says

"No" I reply

"How about you stay the night at my house and think about it?" She asks.

"...okay,as long as you won't get in trouble" Marco says. I was a little wary, but hey, if the girl was going to offer us shelter for free, she was a godsend. I realized as we left I didn't know her name.

"What your name?" I ask.

"Jean, that's a little rude!" Marco says softly.

"What, it's a normal question!"

"You could at least ask a little nicer" he says, giving me an exasperated look. This guy was too cute for his own good, and probably knew it too. I would have to be careful not to let him manipulate me with his niceness.

"Don't worry, it's fine" the girl says. "My name’s Christa"

\-----

Christa leads up in through the back door and up to a small room.

"Sorry it's not very big" she apologizes.

"Well, we don't have anywhere else to stay, so we'll take what we can get" I reply.

She runs out to get blankets for us and Sasha follows to get changed in the bathroom. We quickly change and set up beds once they return. We settle down quickly and fall asleep.  

\-----

_I don't know how she found out. Maybe I lost my temper. Maybe Marco hadn't been paying attention and moved plants again, or Sasha had lifted something big, like a car or something, or-_

_But the point is it doesn't matter. Christa had found out, and she had reported us. Connie was gone, with his super speed he was probably two states over by now. Marco was trying to keep the MPs away, but plants can only do so much. Sasha was unconscious, having been the closest to the door, and taken out before we even knew the MPs were there. I was taking them down left and right, but for every one I took down, two more took his place and I was almost out of energy. I couldn't even protect my friends! What was the point in having abilities if you can't even do that?_

I sat up fast, panting like I had run a marathon. she turned us in, they're coming-

**Calm down, Jean, I would never turn you in**

I turned my head to see Christa looking at me. I must have spoken while asleep again.

"How do I know I can trust you, now that you know?" I ask.

She smiles

**Because I'm like you**

My eyes widen in shock. I heard her voice clearly, but her mouth had never opened. "What-"

**I can talk to people in their minds** , she explained.

I thought about that for a second.

"I suppose if you have an ability, we can trust you." I say

**Does that mean I can come with you?**

" Only if everyone agrees" I respond. She nods and closes her eyes. Wait a minute...

"Hey, can you read minds too?" I ask suspiciously, narrowing my eyes. Her eyes open and she looks nervous.

**Yes. _But_** , she hurries to reassure me, **only when I concentrate or someone thinks something very strongly.**  I scowl at her. **I promise I won't read your minds unless absolutely necessary.** she sends. I sigh.

"All right. " she smiles. " but if you try to use our thoughts against us or anything, I will electrocute you" she nods, and I turn over to go back to sleep. The rest of the group can make their decision in the morning.

**  
**


	5. On the road Part II

**Jean**

My second awakening was much calmer. I opened my eyes to see light peeking in through the blinds and the sleeping faces of... my friends, I suppose. I sat up, yawned and stretched, then sat cross legged, thinking. As far as I could tell, we still had a long ways to go, and another person to add to our merry band of misfits. Hopefully she had some money to bring with her, because if she doesn't, our road trip just got more expensive. I sigh and rub my face. _We don't even know what we'll do when we get there. Where we'll live, how we'll get a job , we might not even be able to finish high school, why did I even agree to this stupid-_

"Morning, Jean"

I turned my head to see Marco sitting up, rubbing his eye.

"You look kinda... scared" he says sleepily, searching my face, "what're you thinking about?"

"I'm not scared!" I shot back "just, nervous. About the future"

He smiles. "Don't worry about it. I'm sure everything will be fine."

"But we don't even know where to live, how to find work-"

"Jean" I fall silent and just look at him. He puts a hand on my shoulder." We'll find an apartment, there are always listings in the paper, same goes for jobs. We can probably just work after school and still graduate too" he smiles "you're smart, Jean, and capable. You'll be just fine" I sigh

"I hope you're right" I smile. "Thanks"

He smiles back. "You're welcome" Then he gets up and leaves. I was about to sleep a little longer, when

"Good morning"

I turn my head to see Christa blinking at me from her blanket burrito.

"What, no mind messaging?"

"It makes me tired. Besides, it's like listening in to people's conversations, it's rude."

"Good. It would get weird if you always talked to me in my brain"

She nodded, smiling softly. "I'm going to go find some breakfast. Get dressed and come down" she says, leaving the room. I get up and stretch. _I wonder how today will turn out._

-

Connie finally stumbles into the kitchen. As we eat the pancakes Christa made, she explains about her abilities.

"And how did you figure out about ours?" Connie asks through a mouthful of pancake.

"Jean had a nightmare that I turned you in, and I looked in his mind to see how to calm him down."

"Huh, didn't know you cared so much, Sparkster." Connie said with a half grin. I glared.

"Well, now we have a good reason for letting you come with us!" Sasha says happily.

"Do you have a bike?" Marco asks.

"No" Christa says "I never had one"

"Then you'll have to ride on someone's handlebars." Marco says.

"She can ride on mine" Sasha volunteers.

"Okay" Christa says, smiling "sounds good"

"Gather up a bag of things you want to bring so we can go soon" I say.

She heads upstairs to do so while we wash the dishes.

-

**Marco**

With Christa and Sasha sharing a bike, our speed was cut somewhat. Even with Sasha's super strength. We biked until around one, then stopped for lunch and a break. While everyone else was digesting, I looked over the map. The nearest city was Stohess. We could probably get there by noon tomorrow and stay for a day or so. We had been biking all day for about 3 days. A break would be nice. _It's only been 3 days since we left? It feels like forever!_ I sigh.

"Is something wrong, Marco?" Christa asks.

"Nope. So, according to the map, we should reach Stohess by tomorrow, noon. We can rest there for a bit."

"We can get more food too. We are kind of running out." Sasha says

"Only because your stomach is a black hole" Jean scoffs. Sasha just shrugs.

"That's a good idea. It's cheaper than just getting fast food or something" I ignore Jeans comment, even if it's true.

"We should get moving if we want to keep that schedule." Connie sighs, standing.

We all get to our feet and head out again.

-

**Jean**

Christa manages to book us 2 rooms in a chain hotel for a low price and without raising suspicion. I guess having a telepath has it's perks. I flip through the channels on the tv while Marco writes something and Connie heads out with Sasha to do...something. Whatever those two do in their free time. I finally sigh and leave the tv on a movie. I think it's Batman or something. I turn to Marco.

"What are you writing?"

"A letter to my mom. I promised I would tell her how we were."

"Can't they track us from the return address?"

"Who said I would write the right one? This one will be from Europe or something."

I chuckle. "And here I was thinking you didn't have a devious bone in your body."

"It's only some cartilage that's devious. Or one of those tiny ear bones." He smiles. I laugh.

"Are you going to write to your parents?" He asks.

"No. They're probably glad I'm gone."

"Don't say that! I'm sure they miss you."

"My dad said all specials were bad. That means in his book, I'm bad too." He smiles sadly at me.

"When you know someone who fits in that category, most people feel differently." I scoff. "I'm sure that he doesn't hate you"

"Then he at least dislikes me"

"Most people seem too."

I start in surprise, then whip my head around to stare at him. "What?!"

He laughs. "Sorry! I thought a joke might cheer you up..." He rubs the back of his neck.

I smile and punch his shoulder. "I guess it helped." I pause as Marco rubs his arm. "Thanks for being my friend"

"Thanks for being mine" he replies "...you know, I've never really had a friend before."

"Really? Nice guy like you?"

"I kept away from people. I was worried about revealing my ability and such."

"Well, now you have four friends. And you don't have to worry about accidently making gardens when you're happy or something" He laughs. We finish the movie in companionable ( _is that really a word?_ ) silence before heading to bed.


	6. On the road Part III

** Marco **

We woke up the next morning feeling much more rested than we had the past few days. The softer hotel beds probably had something to do with it. This hotel had a breakfast buffet included, so we all took advantage of it. Especially Sasha. We were lucky not many people were around, because a group of high school kids in a hotel alone on a weekday during school hours? Not an everyday thing. After eating as much delicious (and free!) food as we could stomach (and Sasha could sneak into her bag) we got our stuff and headed out.

-

We arrive in Stohess around 1:30. We stop at a park and eat the last of the food we brought with us in an impromptu picnic. Then we spent the rest of the day just... relaxing. We locked up our bikes at the public library and walked through the downtown. We stopped at Starbucks for a while (a few hours) and talked. Or in the case of Connie and Sasha, acted out as many funny stories as they could remember or come up with on short notice. I don't think any of us had been so relaxed in days. It was nice to feel normal again. Well, I suppose it was better than my version of normal. My version of normal is sitting at home reading or watching tv. Which was nice. But every day? It got lonely. I like having friends. Even if I had to leave home to find them.

-

**Jean**

After a wonderful time of funny stories and bad jokes, we headed out to find some dinner. Sasha found a Mexican place she said she had been to before with her dad and she claimed it was the best. She says this about most food, but she was right. This place was really good. Then Christa found us another hotel, and we brought our bikes with us (we went in the back way so they didn't yell at us for bringing our bikes inside, because Christa didn't feel like messing with everyone's minds). We only managed to get one room, so it was a little crowded. We stayed up for a bit watching some dumb movie that happened to be on. Connie and Sasha kept up a constant commentary about amusing and dumb things the characters did. It was like a live and slightly more juvenile version of _Mystery Science Theater 3000_. Then we all went to sleep. Unfortunately, it was Marcos turn on the couch, and Connie was not only less attractive than Marco (just an observation…), he was also more annoying. He kept me up half the night kicking me in the leg. I don't know how Marco managed to sleep yesterday.

-

I was the third person to wake up the next day. I decided to hold off on my shower to make sure Connie and Sasha didn't take all the good stuff while I was showering. Marco, Christa and I managed to have a nice, calm breakfast before thing one and thing two crashed the party. I was always surprised that Connie didn't eat as much, or more than, Sasha, seeing as super speed would probably take more energy. Of course, Sasha probably uses her strength daily in small doses, while I've never seen Connie do his thing. Except maybe while running to breakfast a few times...

After Connie and Sasha had cleared the buffet table, we headed back to shower (it turns out everyone decided to wait until after breakfast). While each of us was waiting for our turn, we watched the news. After an hour of ‘news’ reports (and showering) we were all ready to not do anything. Because we hadn't seen any stories about missing people (or specials) on the news, we figured we didn't need to be too worried yet. We headed over to the library to hang out for a bit.

-

**Sasha**

The library is always fun, with lots of funny books you can make fun of and laugh at. Quietly, of course. We had to get more food, but Marco and Christa offered to buy some while we hung out at the library. Those two might be too nice for their own good, but as long as they got all the food I asked for, I was not going to stop them. We split at the library entrance, Jean, Connie and I headed inside and Marco and Christa headed across the street to a mini mart. I grabbed Connie and lead him over to the Graphic Novels section to see what we could make fun of this time. Or maybe just read some more manga.

-

We were startled from our peaceful reading by someone bursting into the library. I peeked around the shelf to see Marco and Christa walking in. Marco looked guilty and I wondered what he thought he had done wrong. They walked over towards us. The girl walking behind them just stared at us, looking bored.

"Are these your friends?" she asked

"Yes" Christa replied.

"You made another friend?" Jean asked, looking up from his phone.

"It's a long story..." Marco said, rubbing the back of his neck and looking at the floor.

"We have time." I say.

Marco takes a deep breath and launches into his story.

-

**Marco**

After the others went into the library, Christa and I crossed the street and entered the store. There was a girl standing behind the counter who looked away from the TV in the corner for a minute to raise a hand towards us in an imitation of a wave before ignoring us completely. A boy near the back of the store greeted us more warmly and offered to help us if we needed anything. We thanked him and looked over the list Sasha had handed us. There was no way we could carry everything she asked for, so we decided to just get the basics for now and stop by again later. We gathered everything relatively easily and were done within 20 minutes. Walking over to the register, I noticed Christa looking around.

"I'll be right back" she said, walking towards the restroom. I nod and continue walking. I put the basket down on the counter. The noise is much louder than I thought it would be, and the girl at the register looks a little surprised.

"I'm so-”

She whips her head around to look behind her, then back at me, her eyes narrowing.

“Wh-what?” I squeak.

She turns and points at the screen in the corner. Staring back at me is my school picture, along with Jeans, Connie's and Sasha's, and the title on the bottom reads "missing teens; likely specials". I couldn't breathe. My muscles tense up. _We're caught, she'll turn us in-_

“I understand if you ran away,” she said quietly, her eyes burning holes through my head, “but are you really specials?" Her expression still showed nothing, but that could mean anything. I put my hand on the counter to try to stop them from shaking so much.

"Um...well, uh...I " I knew I had to say something, but I would feel guilty lying but I couldn't tell her, she would-

I felt a soft touch on my quivering knuckle. I look down in see a small daisy from the pot on the counter petting my knuckle. It calmed me for a second, before I remembered I had an audience.

"So you are specials"

I looked up and she must have seen the terror in my eyes, because she held up her hands and said

" I wouldn't turn you in any more than I would my friend. Don’t worry" Oddly enough, her expression and her bored tone hardly changed despite her reassuring words. I calmed after that. Christa ran up to us. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah-"

"Is she special too?"

Christa tensed and noticed the flower doing very un-plantlike things. She frowned.

"I'm not going to repeat myself again" The girl said, crossing her arms. "I'm not going to turn you in. Now calm down."

Christa now just looked curious and said " Are you planning on running away too?"

The girl suddenly reached across the counter and grabbed Christa's shirt. "How did you know that?" She growled. I grabbed her hand and got her to let go.

"I'm sorry."Christa said "I didn't mean to read your mind. But, your friend, he's-"

"Yeah, he's like you. And don't you _ever_ , read my mind again" the girl poked a finger at Christa menacingly.

"Okay. So... Do you want to come with us?"

"Christa!" I exclaim, " you can't just invite strangers to come with us!"

"Well, you invited me. Besides, she seems like she and her friends might be able to help us get there faster. Right?"

The girl thinks for a moment. "I can't but one of my friends can."

"Works for me, uh-"

"Annie"

"We should talk with the others first" I say.

"My shift's over anyway" Annie says, shrugging and checking us out quickly. We put the food in our bags and head over to the library.

-

**Sasha**

"-and then we came over here." Marco finishes. Jean looks upset, Connie looks excited and I feel somewhere in the middle. I wish we had known that we were on the news. I've always wanted to see myself on the news.

"Hey, so, your friend, what can they do?" Connie asks excitedly.

"Berthold can teleport." She says.

"How'd he find that out?" Jean asks, curious despite his misgivings. Annie's harsh expression softened slightly.

"It's a funny story, but I won't be the one to tell you." Connie and I protest, because if it's funny, we want to know, but she refuses.

“Berthold, Reiner and I made an agreement to run away together once Reiner turns 18, but I’m sure they won’t mind leaving a little early” She says while taking out her phone and dialing. She puts the phone up to her ear and waits for the other person to pick up. In the quiet library, we can hear the other person pick up and answer.

“H-Hello?”

“Berthold, when does Reiner get off work?”

“Um, four, I think…”

“Meet us at his apartment at four thirty.”

“...Us?”

“You remember that story on the news about those teenage specials from Trost? I meet them and they've offered to let us come with them.”

“We didn't-” Jean starts to protest, but a glare from Annie keeps him silent for the rest of the conversation.

“They did? Are we going to go with them?”

“Do you have a reason not to?”

“No…” In the background, a loud noise causes Berthold to gasp. “I’ll,uh,meet you then.” he says quickly before hanging up. Annie looks a little upset, but she puts away her phone with a sigh.

“He’ll come” she said.

“How do you know we’ll let you?”Jean asks.

“Are you going to keep us from coming?” she asks. By this time we have walked outside and the two look about to start throwing punches. At least Jean does, Annie just glares more than usual. I’m getting pretty excited to see it go down (I’m betting on Annie) when Marco steps between them.

“Why don’t we just vote? Everyone in favor of letting them come with us?” Everyone but Jean raises their hands. Annie looks as smug as possible without changing her neutral expression much, and Jean looks betrayed.

“Hey.” I say, “If we can get to the Sisters faster with some more exciting new people, what's the harm?”

“We don’t even know them.” Jean complained.  

“You don’t really know me either” Christa said. Jean sighed. “If I'm found dead by the side of the road, I will haunt your asses for the rest of your lives and never let you sleep again”

Marco giggled.“That's a pretty serious threat, Jean. I don’t think I could survive without my beauty rest”. Jean grumbled, but no one can stay mad at Marco.

“I’ll meet you at this address at 4:30.” Annie says, handing Christa a piece of paper before walking away. Christa looks at the address and shrugs.

“Should be easy enough to find.”

-

**Jean**

By the time 4 rolls around, we have bought the rest of our food and sat at the library for another hour and a half, not to mention our lunch at a nearby deli. We head towards the address Annie had given us on our bikes, having checked out of the hotel and found the address on one of the maps they have on the sidewalk. We arrive at a slightly rundown apartment building and lock our bikes outside. We're a little early but we still walk up the stairs to the fourth floor. At the door, I knock and hardly have time to lower my hand before the door is thrown open. A large blond boy stands in the doorway. He looks at us for a minute, long enough that i wonder if the number was wrong, before he says, “Annie wasn't kidding.” He steps back and lets us in.

The apartment is mostly empty, just a sofa in the living room and an empty dining room. On the sofa is a tall, slightly sweaty, brown-haired boy holding an ice pack to the back of his hand.

“I’m Reiner and this” he gestures to the boy on the couch, “is Berthold. And you are?”

“I'm Marco. This is Jean, Connie, Sasha and Christa. Is Annie…?”

“Shes not here yet” Berthold says from the couch. “B-but I’m sure she’ll be here soon”

We fall into an awkward silence, as none of us have met each other, and our only mutual acquaintance is absent.  Reiner sits on the edge of the house and the four of us sit on the floor. after a few minutes, Marco and Reiner both open their mouths. “So…”

Annie bursts into the apartment. “You’re already here.” she says. She notices Berthold and his ice pack. “What happened?”

“Oh, I just, uh, slammed my hand in a door” he muttered. Annie scowled, obviously disbelieving, but she didn't question him.

“So, where are you planning on going?” Annie asks, turning to us.

“We’re planning on going to the 3 Sisters.” Christa responds.

“Anywhere specific in mind?” Reiner looks a little concerned, his eyebrows drawn together.

“Um… no” Marco responds, “we were planning on working something out once we get there.”

Reiner sighs. “ We’re planning on running away as a large group without a plan?” he looks at Annie, obviously annoyed.

“We don’t have a plan for later. Why not go now with others, so we can help each other?” The two seem to be having a mental battle, glaring daggers and other pointy weapons at each other.

“I think we should go with them” Berthold says softly, “ If they’ll let us.” _Finally, someone asks for our opinion_. Reiner looks over at him and Berthold shifts awkwardly, looking at the ground. After a second, Reiner sighs and collapses backward on the couch, making Berthold bounce and scramble backwards. “Looks like I’m outvoted. So,” he looks over at us. “can we come with?”

“Of course.” Marco says.

“So… how are we getting there?” Berthold asks from his corner of the sofa.

“Well, so far we’ve been biking, but if you have a better idea…”  I let it hang for a second before Annie replies.

“Reiner has a provisional and a minivan. We could drive.” Now that is a good idea…

“If we can all fit, that would be great. We could get there a lot faster.” Sasha says.

“Whoo! Roadtrip!” Connie throws his hand in the air and I roll my eyes. Juvenile. Evidently Annie thinks the same. She scoffs and turns away.

“You guys can stay here tonight, if you want” Reiner says.

“That would be nice, thanks” Sasha replies.

Reiner nods and leaves the room, saying he’s going to get some extra blankets. Berthold gets up as well, telling us he needs to go pack, and that he will be back soon.

Annie sits down on the now empty couch and turns on the mini TV sitting on the floor. She then turns to us and asks

"Are you guys just going to sit there all night and be awkward, or are you going to sit over here like normal people?"

At that, we walk over and arrange ourselves. Christa and Marco sit on the couch, Connie and Sasha lean against one of the armrests and I lean back against the couch near Marco’s legs. After a minute, Reiner returns with a pile of blankets, which he deposits on the floor, and a chair, which he sits in.

“So,” Reiner says after a minute, “what can you guys do?”

“Well, I've got super speed” Connie replies, “Sasha has super strength, Marco can control plants, Jean electrocutes people and Christa can read minds.” Reiner looks at Christa suspiciously. “Not automatically” she rapidly reassures him. “only if I concentrate.”

“Then don’t” Annie says.  

“How did you figure out you could do all this stuff?” Reiner asks.

We tell him our stories, some more truthfully than others ( Connie, no one was shooting at you in our school. If you’re going to bullshit a story like that, at least make it believable. Jeez). Christa told us that, at 10 years old, she really wanted to know what she would get for her birthday, so she kept staring at her grandparent, trying to get them to tell, when suddenly she could hear their thoughts.  

"What about Berthold?" Sasha asked, "how did he find out about his abilities?"

"I'll let him tell the story if he wants to." Reiner says with a smile. Annie smiles a little too, the biggest change in expression to date.

"Aww" Connie whined, "I wanted to hear it"

At that moment, Berthold walked in with a bag and a bruise next to his eye that I was pretty sure hadn't been there before. Connie and Sasha immediately got up and started harassing him. He looked like he had no idea what to do, really nervous and sweaty. After a second, Reiner laughed and got up.

"All right, all right, that's enough" Berthold sighed and sat down. Annie stood up and told us she would be back in the morning.  Reiner switched through the channels on TV until he just gave up, leaving it on Animal Planet.

“Why do you have your own apartment?” Connie asks after a while, “You aren't old enough for that yet, right?”

“My parents had to move for work and I told them I wouldn’t go with them, so they keep paying for this apartment as long as I have a job to buy my own food and don’t fail any of my classes. They’re kind of, you know, hands off, just let me do my own thing.” He replied, shrugging.

“Then why do you want to run away? What would change?” Sasha asked.

“I’m leaving because I want to help my friends.” He said simply. “They want to leave, so I’m going with them.”

“Why do you want to leave?” Christa asks Berthold. He shrugs looks away, replying “I just want to get away from here”.

“Why?” Connie asks, but Berthold shakes his head and refuses to respond. We fall into a show about baby animals. Once 6 o’clock rolls around, Reiner gets up and grabs a bunch of food from the kitchen, telling us to eat whatever we want, because he can’t bring all the food he has with us. Connie and Sasha take this as far as they can, eating at least a box of granola bars and a bag of chips on their own, and looking for more. The rest of us try to eat a relatively normal dinner, making a few boxes of instant macaroni and some fruit. After that, we watch tv until 9, when Reiner tells us to go to bed. Christa and Sasha take one of the guest rooms, Marco and I take the other, and Berthold, and Connie sleep in the living room. _All in all_ , i think as I fall asleep, _a nice, relaxing day_.


End file.
